Radiation Oncology

Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to damage cancer cells' DNA and destroy their ability to divide and grow. It is delivered using linear accelerators, proton accelerators, metered cobalt-60 exposure, or brachytherapy where radioactive seeds are placed inside the patient on a temporary or permanent basis to kill cancer or relieve pain. The main radiation oncology society and annual conference is the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

x-ray dosimetry capsule monitors radiation dose during radiotherapy

Swallowable capsule monitors radiation dose in real-time during radiotherapy

Coming in at a diameter of 5 mm and thickness of 0.2 mm, the X-ray dosimeter measures radiation dose up to five times more accurately than standard methods. 

April 14, 2023
nuc med treatment for non-hodgkin lymphoma

New nuclear medicine treatment could potentially cure non-Hodgkin lymphoma

“If testing is successful in humans, this would represent an excellent new treatment option for patients with this disease.” 

April 11, 2023
projected radiation oncology workforce supply and demand

Projected supply and demand of radiation oncology: Can the workforce keep up?

In years past, concerns have been raised over whether a growing radiation oncology workforce would eventually outpace patient demands, but a new report brings positive news.

March 16, 2023
Radiation Therapy

Chemical imaging method could improve radiotherapy planning

A team of experts has been researching a method known as photo acoustic chemical imaging, or PACI, to understand how it can offer added insight into the chemical makeup of a tumor.  

March 1, 2023
womanconsultation.jpg

Older women with breast cancer can safely forego radiation therapy

New data suggest that it may not be necessary for women older than 65 with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer to undergo radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery and hormone therapy, as it does not impact death rates or metastasis risk.

February 16, 2023

Experts have concerns about recently approved prostate cancer radiotherapy

In March of 2022, 177Lu-PSMA-617 was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in men with PSMA-avid disease who have previously undergone chemotherapy and a novel androgen receptor-directed therapy. 

January 30, 2023
Incoming American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) President Ehsan Samei, PhD, DABR, FAAPM, FSPIE, FAIMBE, FIOMP, FACR, chief imaging physicist for Duke University Health System and the Reed and Martha Rice Distinguished Professor of Radiology at Duke, is part of the team that developed the two specialized, medical-grade mannequin humans to test how much radiation NASA astronauts will receive on the Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

VIDEO: Radiology expertise used to create radiation astronaut phantoms for the Artemis I moon mission

Incoming AAPM President Ehsan Samei, PhD, FACR, chief imaging physicist for Duke University Health System, helped develop two specialized radiology phantom astronauts to measure how much radiation NASA astronauts will receive on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

January 10, 2023
car ride-sharing uber lyft

Hospital-provided rideshare services could shorten radiation therapy treatment courses

Cancer patients who are offered free hospital-provided rideshare services are more likely to comply with radiation therapy recommendations. 

January 3, 2023

Around the web

Automated AI-generated measurements combined with annotated CT images can improve treatment planning and help referring physicians and patients better understand their disease, explained Sarah Jane Rinehart, MD, director of cardiac imaging with Charleston Area Medical Center.

Two advanced algorithms—one for CAC scores and another for segmenting cardiac chamber volumes—outperformed radiologists when assessing low-dose chest CT scans. 

"Gen AI can help tackle repetitive tasks and provide insights into massive datasets, saving valuable time," Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said Tuesday. 

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